The Silver Lining
by roseem
Summary: Dean is a college student, living an ordinary, messy college life. One day he gets an e-mail from the school that there is another student, Castiel, transferring into his room for unknown reasons. Dean isn't questioning why at first, but soon enough he notices Castiel's odd behavior and questions begin to rise to the surface. Rated T for now but will be changed to M later.
1. Chapter 1

The Silver Lining

**Summary: Dean is a college student, living an ordinary, messy college life. One day he gets an e-mail from the school that there is another student, Castiel, transferring into his room for unknown reasons. Dean isn't questioning why at first, but soon enough he notices Castiel's odd behavior and questions begin to rise to the surface.**

**Pairing: Destiel**

**Overall Rating: MA**

**Beta Reader: The awesome Littleaprilroses. :)**

**Note: I'll be posting a new chapter every Thursday possibly. Enjoy and tell me what you think.**

Every morning in the Winchester's house there was a routine. Mary woke up first, and started making breakfast. John was next; he picked up the newspaper and mail from outside before going to sit down on one of the chairs and start reading. He did all this while happily drinking the hot coffee he'd made earlier.

Then Sam woke up and brushed his teeth, got dressed for school, and went downstairs to eat his breakfast. Dean slept in of course because his alarm didn't wake him up on time, so Mary had to go upstairs and do it herself. Finally the whole family was downstairs eating breakfast and poking fun of each other like normal families often do.

Even though they were all different, every one of them respected their family and put it before anything else.

Now Dean Winchester wasn't home anymore. Mary didn't make him breakfast and she most certainly didn't wake him up. John wasn't there to take care of him, and Sammy wasn't there to annoy him. He didn't think that going to college would make him miss his family so much, but it did.

He mostly missed Sam because even though he was just his younger brother, he was also the only person he trusted completely. Now, he doesn't know if he can trust anyone, and that made Dean question his decision of even going to college.

He wasn't even committed to the classes. He didn't study, and failed a bunch of his exams already. But he made a promise to his mom that he will try his best to finish college, and he would most definitely not break it. Making his mother proud was his biggest wish of all, so before doing anything, he thought twice of what she would say about it. That's how he made most of the decisions in his life, like even considering the idea of going to college.

Dean would much rather just stay at home and work in his father's mechanic shop, because that's the one thing he was sure he was good at. But he decided to make his future different, rather that living his father's life for the rest of his days.

Now, he has to stay here, in Kansas State University, and try to make the best of what he had, even if he felt like crying every time he saw the big fat books.

It was Monday tomorrow and he had to study the one subject he hated the most: history, and it didn't help that he got up at noon. He took out a leftover pizza from the fridge and poured some of the coffee he made earlier.

He avoided all of the mess in the room and sat on the old chair right next to the desk. He would probably clean the room a bit, but there was nobody to clean it for. He didn't have a roommate, because the one he had dropped out, and his girlfriend, Lisa, broke up with him, so nobody really visited.

If by some accident someone did visit, the person better be okay with dirty places, because there was unwashed clothes and underwear on the bed,bread crumbs on the floor, spilled liquid on his table, and he was pretty sure a rat was living in one of the bottom cabins in the mini kitchen, that wasn't really a kitchen, it was basically just one corner of the room.

But his unsanitary living conditions was the last thing he needed to worry about. He needed to find a way to study hard and study fast, so he can pass the history exam that was just a day away. He thought of asking for his next door neighbor, Kevin, for help, but he was pretty sure that he wouldn't help him, because they were in the same class together, so he needed to study too, and Kevin was really cranky before exams. He had no other choice to do it himself.

He opened the big brown book on page 203 and started reading. The chapter was about the beginning of World War Two. After finishing the whole ten pages of that chapter he only understood that the World War Two started with an attack of Poland.

That wasn't nearly enough information for him to pass. He tried remembering something from high school, because he was pretty sure that he studied about World War Two before, but he couldn't remember anything, mostly because he wasn't really a great student, and his memory wasn't his strongest suit.

He tried to reread the chapter again, this time with more concentration, but he couldn't do it. His mind was elsewhere. He decided to take a break, so he turned on his laptop that his dad bought for him before he started college. He wasn't really a computer person, but he did know how to check his e-mail to see if anyone sent him anything.

Usually it was empty, or just some spam mail, but this time he had two. An e-mail from the school and one from his brother. He opened the one from Sam first. He started reading, and he got happy even on the first line:

Hey jerk,

How have you been? I haven't heard from you in a while.

I guess now, that you're in college you are kind of too cool for me. Haha.

Anyway, I know you're busy, but try calling more often. I wanna hear from you.

With love, your bitch.

A smile rose on Dean's face. He was so happy that Sam was sending him messages often. He replied as soon as he finished reading. He made it long, explaining how he had to study, eat and sleep, and even though it didn't seem much, it was very stressful and he just didn't have the time to spend on the computer or on the phone.

He also mentioned his big exam that's coming up and how he has no idea what he'll do, since he has no knowledge of the subject. He also requested of Sam to say hi to his parents and everyone back home, and he promised that he'll try calling more often.

Before closing his laptop he remembered there was another message sent, and it was from the school, so he thought it wouldn't hurt to read it. As he started reading further, the message was getting worse. It said that there was a student transferring from another room in the dorms, reasons unknown, and that he would be arriving today in the afternoon.

Dean got frustrated because he just got used to living alone, and he wasn't ready to give up his privacy just yet. He quickly took his phone and started dialing the main office of the school. It was Sunday, so of course, nobody answered.

He was frustrated. He didn't even know this kid. For all he knew, he could've been kicked out by his old roommate because he was too annoying, or even worse, a bully, which was a weird thought, since college students are considered mature enough to not bully others, then again, he didn't know for sure. And it wasn't like Dean couldn't handle a bully. He was probably the most feared kid in high school, but that didn't mean he liked fighting. He wanted for his college life to end peaceful and happy.

The more he thought about the fact that a new person is about to come in this room today and stay here for who knows how long frightened him. He had to at least clean up a little bit, since it seemed there is no other choice for him. But how was he supposed to clean when there was an exam he had to study for. It was less than a day away, and Dean's knowledge about it still remained low.

Dean didn't have enough time to finish his worrying when he heard a quiet knock on the door that almost made him believe that it was just in his head. He stood in place for a minute until he heard it again. He wondered who could it be, since the kid was supposed to be arriving in the after noon, and it was barely just noon.

He walked to the door and opened it. He saw a young boy, about his age, who's blue eyes made Dean want to look at them. His dark brown hair was messy and he was wearing a dirty light brown trench coat.

"Can I come in?" The blue eyed boy asked quietly.

"Uh, yeah." Dean said as he broke his gaze and stepped away from the door, gesturing the blue eyed person to get inside. He just nodded and entered the room. For a minute there, he just stood and looked at the mess. Dean thought he was too shocked by the dirty room to do anything else.

"Sorry about that," Dean said quietly with an apologetic look, "I didn't really have time to clean up."

"It's okay." he boy said. He took a seat on the chair, because it seemed that it was the cleanest area he could sit on.

"What's your name?" Dean asked as he sat on the other chair.

"I'm Castiel." He said shyly.

"Cool name." Dean smiled at Castiel.

"Really? You are not going to make fun of it?" Castiel seemed a bit surprised, which made Dean even more surprised than him. Why would he make fun of his name, he wondered.

"Of corse not." Dean said. He looked around and saw that Castiel didn't bring any suitcases with him, so he asked "Um, where are your stuff?"

"Some people that work at the dorms are going to bring them in later." Castiel said. Dean noticed that Castiel always had the same tone in his voice, which made Dean curious why.

"Oh..." He said, "Do you want anything to eat, or?" Dean asked, because he hated awkwardly quiet moments, and it seemed that he was getting himself into one.

"No, I'm good." Castiel said after looking around in the room again, feeling disgusted.

"Okay. Well, I better start cleaning then. I'm really sorry I didn't clean before. There was nobody to clean for." Dean explained apologetically.

"No, it's okay, it really is. It's about as messy as my last room..." Castiel said as he got up the chair, "Well, not quite as messy, I suppose." He have him a soft smile. Dean chuckled. He felt better about the fact that he didn't clean up, because it seemed that Cas was a really understanding person. Castiel was also a bit weird, but Dean kept that to himself.

Castiel started walking towards the desk where Dean had left his book open and commented on the chapter that the book was open on.

"Ahh, WWII, I remember that subject perfectly. That was when the Nazi's and their supporters attempted mass genocide. There was a ton of people that tried as hard as possible to hide the fact that they were Jewish, homosexual, or anything that the Germans didn't like." He sighed. "Tragic times, really."

Dean just stood there, looking at Castiel, who seemed to know tons about this subject, which might actually help Dean pass this exam. He barely knew the guy, but somehow, he felt comfortable enough to ask him for help, so he did.

"Sure, I can help you. History is one of my strong suits." He said with a smile, "But, can we maybe clean up a bit first?" Dean laughed at Castiel. He was so weird, he thought, but he couldn't help but feel sympathy towards him.

"Of corse we can!" Dean said enthusiastically, and he automatically started picking up the dirty clothes from the bed, then underneath it. He realized that there was one bed since he pushed the two together to make a bigger one for himself, so he looked kind of embarrassed.

After he cleaned the clothes he separated the beds and pushed the one on the other side of the room. Then he took out the sheets because they were dirty and replaced them with clean ones from the closet. He was completely distracted from Castiel, until he heard a scream. He turned around and he saw him sitting on the table, looking too scared to get down.

"What happened?" Dean asked.

"This is ridiculous! There was a rat in the cabin!" He yelled.

Dean laughed so hard that it caused him to snort like a pig, and Castiel was just looking at Dean with a confused look.

"Yeah, I know about the rat. I kinda liked him, so I never bothered to get rid of him. He's nice." Dean said.

"Well that would be a nice warning before I started cleaning." Castiel said quietly.

"Sorry Cas. I forgot to mention that." He said, "Hey, is calling you Cas alright?" He asked.

"I suppose it is. First time anyone's ever called me that." Cas said.

"Good! It will be like my own little nickname for you." Dean said and started looking for the rat. Cas didn't say anything.

Then something moved over by the beds causing Cas to panic once again. Dean just laughed and went to look over to see what it was. When he finally found the white furry animal he picked it up carefully. "Look at him Cas. He is adorable." Dean said.

"I'm kind of scared. Get rid of it." Cas said nervously.

"Oh, come on. I wanna keep him." Dean held the little rat close to Cas, forcing him to look at it. Cas opened his eyes slowly and saw the little creature in Dean's hands. He couldn't help it giving it a soft smile, and he had the sudden urge to pet his little ears, so he did.

"So, can I keep him?" Dean smiled as he looked at Cas getting over his fear.

"I guess..." Cas said quietly, feeling a bit embarrassed that he overreacted over a furry little creature.

"What should we name him?" Dean asked.

"Name him?" Cas asked confused.

"If we're keeping him he needs a name!" Dean said.

"Okay then, how about Spike then." Cas suggested.

"Why Spike?" Dean wondered.

"Because his ears have a spike shaped form, it's an odd form for rat ears." Castiel explained. Dean nodded. "Spike it is then."

Dean took the rat and put it in a small box he had and both of them continued working on cleaning up the place. Cas cleaned the floor, where some parts were harder to clean than others. The carpet had something sticky and he had to scrub it twice to get rid of it.

Dean cleaned the cabins with a cloth he found and some kitchen supplies his mom bought for him when he moved in the dorms. Then he went downstairs to put his dirty clothes in the laundry and when he came back he saw Cas sitting on his now clean bed, with suitcases all around him.

"I guess we have more cleaning to do." Cas sighed.

"No! No! Ahh... I need to study!" Dean yelled.

"It's alright, I can tutor you before I unpack." Cas comforted him. Dean smiled at him and nodded in agreement. They both sat on the desk that was separating their beds and started reading the chapter that Dean was supposed to memorize by tomorrow.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: Dean is a college student, living an ordinary, messy college life. One day he gets an e-mail from the school that there is another student, Castiel, transferring into his room for unknown reasons. Dean isn't questioning why at first, but soon enough he notices Castiel's odd behavior and questions begin to rise to the surface.**

**Pairing: Destiel**

**Overall Rating: MA**

**Beta Reader: The amazing LivingtheSPNlife. :)**

**Note: I will be posting a new chapter every Thursday possibly. Enjoy and tell me what you think.**

After seven hours of tutoring spent with Cas and two hours of re-reading the notes he took, Dean still didn't feel ready enough for the upcoming exam. History was his worst subject; he just didn't care enough to get into the material and memorize it.

But after all that time of talking about the same things over and over again, Dean finally understood the basics of the Second World War. He noted that Hitler was the German bad guy and he killed lots of Jews with Japan and Italy. And that everyone else was basically trying to stop them. And of course, the good guys won.

Dean felt kind of sorry about all the people that died during this war. They were brutally murdered for no reason, other than lack of sympathy from the Germans. And he felt sorry about the two atomic bombs; the two cities destroyed by the United States. He imagined all the innocent people that died in those explosions.

He understood the end of the war; it was just everything else that was the problem. Castiel tried so hard to help Dean with his studies, and he was a tough teacher too. Every time Dean spaced out, he would snap his fingers in front of Dean's face to catch his attention. And Dean's craving for food distracted him too much; therefore, he forbade eating while studying, so Dean wouldn't slack off. Dean's lack of interest made it hard for Cas to grab his full attention into what he was repeating over and over again.

Dean was kind of surprised by Castiel's determination. Usually anybody who tried tutoring him ended up giving up and letting him deal with it by himself, but Cas was really patient. He didn't get angry at his lack of knowledge and understanding, not even once. Cas kept his cool the whole time. He was understanding and generous to help, and Dean was really glad he was.

Cas even gave him a couple of tips of how to memorize things quickly. He told him that if he took notes and reread them before the test, it would be easier to remember.

Now Dean only hoped that Cas was right, because the teacher was passing out the papers that needed to be filled out, and Dean was getting more nervous by the minute. It was almost the end of the quarter, and he needed to pass this if he didn't want to retake the class.

As Dean was sweating, someone from behind him tapped his shoulder. It was Kevin. He turned around and saw that he was sweating too, which was weird, because Kevin was one of the smartest kids in the class. Kevin didn't say a word. He just gave him a piece of folded notebook paper. Dean turned around and opened it. It was a note that said:

"Good Luck. Don't be nervous. -Charlie."

He turned around again and saw Charlie sitting behind Kevin, but she wasn't looking at him. She was quietly writing on a piece of paper.

Charlie was one of Dean's best friends that he'd met in college. She was the first person Dean actually noted as interesting. It was the freshman Halloween held in the abandoned building that was close to the University. Every girl dressed up in a slutty outfit, pretending to be something that wasn't even remotely close to the thing they were pretending to be, except for Charlie. Charlie was dressed up in a dragon slayer from a video game Sam had bought for Dean's birthday. Dean ditched his date by lying that he was going to the bathroom and walked up to Charlie.

They started talking and he found her very interesting. She was there with another girl and Dean assumed that she was her friend, but apparently, that was her girlfriend. Dean was a bit surprised at first, but he got used to it really fast. Apparently her date was into the dragon slayer game as well. She wasn't wearing a costume at the party, but Dean got the chance to hang out with Charlie and Gilda, and he found out that she was almost as awesome as Charlie.

Now that Dean thought about it, he hasn't seen Charlie in his history class before, so he couldn't help but wonder what she's doing there. There was no way of asking her now, before the exam, but he made a mental note to do it later. Now, he had to fully concentrate on the test. He had to pass no matter what.

It wasn't like ordering himself to pass will help him do it, but it gave him a weird kind of determination, and it was worth holding on to, at least for now.

He started writing at a fast pace, he wrote everything he could think of, hoping that it was enough.

It was a long 90-minute exam, but thankfully, after the first period, the other ones passed by pretty fast. For most, he tried following the lectures, but that was pretty much it. He didn't need to put extra effort in them.

On his way home, Dean heard someone calling his name. It was his friend Benny. He was inviting him to go grab a burger with him, but Dean's head still hurt so he didn't want to do anything trifling before he gets some rest.

Just when he walked through the door, his phone started vibrating. It was a text from Charlie, asking him if he wanted to hang out tomorrow after school. He just replied 'yes' and threw his head on the soft pillow. He fell asleep instantly.

What Dean felt like few hours was actually a whole new day. He remembered that he fell asleep around three in the afternoon, and it was five in the morning now. He saw Castiel playing with Spike on the corner of the room, where the coffee table stood.

"Good Morning," Cas said with a smile.

"Cas, when did you wake up?" Dean asked, because it felt weird that Cas was awake so early.

"Not too long ago. I had time to make breakfast. Want some pancakes?" Cas asked.

"Sure." Dean murmured, still sleepy. He entered the tiny bathroom and washed up. When he got back to the room, Cas already had breakfast ready for him, but he didn't seem to have any breakfast ready for himself.

"What about you?" Dean asked.

"Oh I don't eat in the morning. I feel sick afterwards if I do." Cas slightly trembled. Dean saw it, but chose to ignore it. Since he overslept, he had a headache. Before he started eating, he got up and started to make coffee. Cas was sitting on his bed, drawing something in a notebook. While the coffee was in process of waiting, Dean walked over to Cas. He saw that Cas was drawing a weirdly shaped form that resembled two wings colliding.

For some unknown reason, the picture made Dean feel kind of sad.

"What are you drawing?" He asked the blue-eyed boy.

"I don't know..." Cas said, as he questionably looked at the picture.

"Well... Looks cool." Dean said, as he tapped Castiel's shoulder. Then he went back to the kitchen corner and poured the coffee that just finished making, in a cup. He sat down the table and started eating his buttery chocolate chip pancakes, occasionally took a sip from the coffee cup.

"Cas, when do your classes start?" Dean asked.

"First one is around 10:30," Cas answered without looking away from the paper.

"And when are they over?" Dean asked again.

"Around 4:30," Cas said.

"Well that's a nice schedule." Dean said, not knowing what else to say, since the questions he asked were purely just for his knowledge. He kind of wanted to ask Cas to skip school with him so he could get to know him a bit more, but he was too scared and shy to do so.

"I suppose," Cas said quietly.

"Hey Cas. Do you want to skip classes today?" Dean asked finally.

"Skip classes?!" Finally something that grabbed Castiel's attention enough for him to turn away from the paper.

"Yes. I don't want to go to school today, and I don't want to hang out on my own," he explained.

"I guess that's fine," Cas said. That was an answer Dean didn't expect. Cas seemed like the kind of person who would never skip.

"Really?" he said with a surprised tone.

"Sure. Why not?!" Cas smiled.

"Okay then, get ready," Dean said.

"Um Dean..." Cas said.

"What?"

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere!" Dean yelled. "Come on, get ready!" Cas just nodded and put his bright red shirt on. When Dean looked at him, he started laughing, because the bright red looked horrible on him. Cas got embarrassed and took it off right away. Next he chose a neon green.

"Why don't you just go with a darker color, or something less noticeable," Dean suggested sarcastically.

"These are the only clean ones," Cas explained.

"Then borrow mine, we're about the same size," Dean offered. He pointed towards his t-shirts then sat down. Cas walked at the closet and stared at it for a while.

"Why do you have so many plaid shirts?" Cas asked.

"Because plaid is cool," Dean said proudly.

"If you say so," Cas said with a shrug. He picked a dark blue t-shirt with 'AC DC' written on it. "Better?" he asked. Dean was sitting on a chair next to the wooden table. He looked up at Cas, and just smiled and nodded to his question.

After both of them got ready, they left the room with precociousness, trying not to get caught by the security guards that were roaming around the hallway.

In the end, they both successfully snuck out. They'd been thinking of where to go for a while, and in the end, they finally decided to go to the arcade downtown that Dean used to visit a lot, known by the name 'The Trickster'. Dean wanted to go play pool there, and Cas didn't mind, even though he had no idea how to play pool.

They took the bus instead of a cab. It took about 40 minutes to get there. They arrived around noon, plenty of time left to get back home.

When they got there, Cas was a bit surprised. He expected little kids, since it was an arcade, but instead he found high school and college students, mostly males. All of them were too focused on the games they were playing to turn around and see who entered.

Dean walked over to the bar and Cas followed. The bartender was, surprisingly, a girl.

"Hey, Jo," Dean greeted.

"Why are you ditching again, Dean?" Jo asked without turning around. Cas assumed they knew each other quite well for her to recognize him by only his voice.

"Didn't feel like attending today. Jo, this is my friend, Cas." he said, looking over to Cas. This time, Jo turned around. She took a glance at Cas and smiled at him.

"Nice to meet ya. I'm Jo." she said, shaking his hand.

"Castiel." he said quietly.

"That's a... rare name." Jo said with a chuckle. Cas frowned. He was really sensitive about his name. He didn't like it, since he didn't know anyone else with his name. Plus, he was weird enough already; he didn't need people getting on his back for his name as well. Why couldn't he be named something like Jack, or Larry, he wondered. He turned around but Dean wasn't there anymore. He started searching for him, but he couldn't see him anywhere.

"He's probably on the back, playing pool with Gabe." Jo said, realizing that Cas was looking for Dean. "How did you meet him anyway?" she added.

"I'm his new roommate." he said.

"And?"

"And?" Cas repeated.

"Well he doesn't really get along with his roommates. Usually they yell because he's too messy or because he's rude."

"To be fair, I only know him for 2 days."

"Ahh, that's why. He's trying to make you a good impression.," she explained. Cas didn't say anything, because at that moment, Dean showed up. Next to him, there was a guy, a bit older than Dean. He had a dirty blonde hair and green eyes. He was about the same height as him.

"Cas, this is Gabriel." Dean said. Gabriel shook Castiel's hand.

"Nice to meet ya, Cas. I love the name Cas. What does it stand for?" Gabe asked.

"Short for Castiel," Cas said quietly.

"Hey don't talk about the name. Kinda a sensitive matter," Dean said to Gabe. "Well Cas and I better go play some pool now." Dean got serious all of a sudden. He pushed Cas in front of him on his shoulders and then started walking behind him.

On the pool table there were two people already playing, so they waited for a little while.

It wasn't too long before they were done, so Dean grabbed the pool stick. Cas wasn't sure how to play, so he just stood there, confused.

"Do you want me to show you?" Dean laughed when he saw that Cas was looking clueless.

"That would be great." Cas said. Dean started explaining. He tried telling him how to hold the stick, but Cas didn't get it, so he had to show him. He put his arms around Cas and placed them on his. He grabbed the other boy's fingers and put them in the right position. Cas got uncomfortable, but Dean was too focused on the game to notice his reaction.

After he was done explaining, they started playing. At first, Cas didn't know exactly what to do, but after a couple of times of practice he got the hang of it.

"So who was that guy?" Cas asked.

"What guy?" Dean said.

"That... Gabe person."

"Oh, well Gabriel is the owner of this arcade. I owed him about $20 from the last time I was here." Dean explained. Cas just nodded and continued playing.

They played for about three hours with couple of pauses for a drink. Dean got a couple of beers, and Cas got a non-alcoholic cocktail.

For some reason, Dean got quite drunk. When they were going back home, he had to hold on to Cas because he couldn't walk straight down the street. Cas was strong enough to hold on to the pressure, which surprised Dean.

When they got to the bus, Dean kept talking something about Sam. Cas didn't know who Sam is so he didn't say anything back; he just nodded and looked outside from the window.

"Are you listening to me, Cas?" Dean asked.

"Yes." Cas said without turning to Dean.

"No, you're not!"

"I am."

"You aren't. You don't even care enough to look at me."

"I'm sorry, Dean. I'm a bit distracted." Cas said apologetically.

"You've been ignoring me all day." Dean said.

"Dean. I've known you for only two days. What do you want me to do?" Cas asked.

"Well, two days was enough for me to be interested in who you are. I want you to be interested in who I am as well," he said with a whining voice. Cas chose to ignore it, because he figured he was drunk and didn't know what he was talking about.

They only know each other for two days. And as much as Cas wanted to get close to Dean, he couldn't, because two days aren't enough to be close to a person. He decided to give it some time for things to fall into place. He believed that their friendship would grow as time passed, and possibly he was right. Maybe their friendship would just stay awkward together.

When they got home, Dean went straight to bed, but Cas stayed awake for a while longer. There was a new day tomorrow, and Cas wasn't planning on missing school again. He cleaned up a bit before grabbing something to eat and going to bed. The truth was Cas couldn't sleep. He was too bothered by thoughts from the past to have quiet nights. He stayed up as much as was needed until he was ready to loosen up and get some rest.

Some days were okay, but some days were what he thought hell looked like. But Dean would never know this, because Dean was always sleeping peacefully. And Cas loved just sitting by him and watching him curl up his lips as he snored. He really had nothing better to do than that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: Dean is a college student, living an ordinary, messy college life. One day he gets an e-mail from the school that there is another student, Castiel, transferring into his room for unknown reasons. Dean isn't questioning why at first, but soon enough he notices Castiel's odd behavior and questions begin to rise to the surface.**

**Pairing: Destiel**

**Overall Rating: MA**

**Beta Reader: The amazing LivingtheSPNlife. :)**

**Note: I will be posting a new chapter every Thursday possibly. Enjoy and tell me what you think.**

It has been a few weeks since Cas started living with Dean. At first, it was kind of weird, because they were still getting used to each other, but after a while, it just became normal. They became so close in such little time that Dean couldn't remember how he did things before Cas had moved in.

He couldn't imagine not being able to get help on his homework from Cas, or eat anything else for breakfast other than Castiel's pancakes. He wouldn't even make his bed in the mornings if Cas wasn't there to make him feel like he had to.

It was just because of his influence that Dean's college life became bearable. He was grateful at Cas for that, but Dean noticed some pretty strange things about him.

He was always awake before Dean, no matter how early he woke up; he didn't have a phone, or if he did, he never used it; he never ate, or at least not in front of Dean; he never mentioned his family; he never saw him in school; he never talked to anyone else but Dean himself, and a few other things.

But no matter how weird Cas was, that wouldn't stop Dean from hanging out with him.

Today was a Saturday, and Dean slept in. When he woke up, he saw Cas playing with Spike, just like he did every time he awoke.

"Good Morning Dean." Cas smiled. "Pancakes are ready."

"I swear to god Cas, your pancakes made me gain like 10 pounds just this week," Dean chuckled and went in the bathroom to wash up, just like he did every day. Every morning was 'deja-vu' for him; it was always the same.

He sat down and started eating. After so many pancakes, he couldn't believe he wasn't sick of them already. They were the best pancakes Dean ever tried.

"Hey, don't eat too much. It's Halloween so I thought I'd make pumpkin pie today," Cas said.

"Oh my god. Pie!" Dean yelled.

"What's wrong?" Cas asked.

"Nothing! I just REALLY love pie!" he yelled again. "Where is it?" he asked.

"In the oven, it's for later," Cas replied.

"But... Pie..." he said with a sad look on his face.

"Later Dean."

"Fine. I gotta leave anyway."

"Where are you going? It's Saturday," Cas said, confused.

"Oh, I know. I'm meeting up with someone," Dean answered. He got up, got his phone from the charger and left without saying another word. He would mention something to Cas, but it was the One Year Friend-A-Versarry for him and Charlie, and he promised he'd take her out to the arcade.

Charlie loved the arcade, but she never went there without Dean, and lately, they hadn't been hanging out as much as they used to.

As he walked towards the school, his phone started ringing. It was Charlie.

"Hello?" Dean answered.

"Where the hell are you? I've been waiting for ten minutes," Charlie said.

"Um... I'm coming, sorry," Dean said.

Charlie laughed. "I'm just kidding. I'm actually gonna be like five minutes late."

"Well same here, so..."

"Awesome! See you there," She said and hung up.

Dean continued walking. The boys' dorms were further from the school than the girls' one. They had to walk for 20 minutes to get to the university.

Finally, he made it, and, in his surprise, Charlie was there first. She saw him and started running towards him, hugging him tight. Thank god Dean was strong enough to hold her, otherwise, they'd both fall on the ground.

"Oh my gosh, I've missed you!" She said.

"Me too!" he replied.

They didn't say anything for a while; they just continued walking. There was a little bakery close to the bus station, and every time they hung out, they would go there and buy freshly baked pretzels.

"These are always good!" Charlie said while chewing a piece of the pretzel she bought.

"I know, right? I never buy them anymore, though," Dean added.

Charlie smiled. They both sat down on the bench at the bus station and quietly ate their pretzels.

"Anyway, what have you been doing lately? Anything new?" Charlie asked.

"Not really. I have a new roommate. That's new."

"Oh really? Who?"

"His name is Castiel," Dean said and smiled.

"Castiel, huh. Cool name."

"I know! He hates it though."

"Why would you hate the name Castiel?! It's fucking awesome. I wanna be named Castiel," she said in annoyance. Dean smiled. "Why didn't you bring him along? I wanna meet him," Charlie said.

"Well... I didn't think about that," Dean replied.

"Is he still at home?" She asked.

"I think so, yeah."

"Well then call him and tell him to get down here!"

"I don't have his number," Dean said.

"You don't have his... Why?!" She asked in annoyance.

"I don't even think he has a phone man," he said in defense.

"Well then let's go get him ourselves," she said as she got up and pulled Dean's hand.

They crossed the street and started running towards the dorms.

They got there in no time. It's been less than an hour so Dean hoped that Cas would still be in the room, otherwise all the running around back and forth would've been for nothing.

They got inside Dean's room and saw Cas sitting on the floor, playing with his mouse. Dean wondered if that's what Cas did every time he was at home alone.

"Hey man," He greeted.

"Hello Dean." Cas left the mouse and greeted Dean and the beautiful redhead next to him.

"You must be Cas," Charlie said.

Cas nodded. "I am."

"Well nice to meet you. I'm Charlie."

"You as well."

"Anyway, do you want to join us?" Dean asked.

"Where?" Cas asked.

"The Arcade." Charlie said.

"I'm busy," Cas said quickly, without thinking.

"Oh come on Cas, all you ever do is pet the rat or do homework," Dean said.

"Cas, please join us. I'm curious of who Dean's new roommate is," Charlie said.

"I... I guess," Cas said finally. Charlie cheered. She grabbed Dean's hand and pulled him out of the door. Cas followed quietly.

For the whole way to the bus station Cas didn't say anything. He was just really quiet and tried to walk as far away from Dean and Charlie as possible, but they never let him alone. They were always next to him, talking and laughing.

Dean looked at Cas and he saw that he was troubled. He felt bad that he brought him along. He didn't know what's going on with Cas or how to deal with it. In fact, he didn't really know anything about him.

They were just awkwardly sitting on the bench after Charlie got another pretzel to eat.

Finally, the bus came and it was full. There was no space for the awkwardness there.

When they got to the arcade, they saw Jo again behind the bar. There was a woman on the other side of the bar arguing with her. Dean walked up to the bar, but Cas and Charlie didn't know what to do.

"Ellen, Jo, what the hell is going on?" Dean asked, placing his hand on Ellen's shoulder.

"She is being an idiot," Jo said.

"Hey don't talk smack about your mother," Ellen said.

"Both of you, stop it. What's going on?" Dean asked.

"She says she wants to quit her job and go to California," Ellen sighed.

"And?" Dean asked.

"Well, that's it," Ellen said.

"That's what you're fighting about?" Dean laughed.

"Dean!" Ellen yelled at him.

"But it's ridiculous, right? Why does she keep controlling my life? I'm not a kid anymore, I'm almost 20," Jo said.

"It is ridiculous," Dean confirmed. He looked back and saw Cas and Charlie standing there awkwardly.

"Are you taking her side?" Ellen asked.

"I am. She can do whatever she wants, Ellen. She's old enough to make decisions on her own," Dean said quietly. He felt like he's repeating the conversation he had with his dad right before he decided to go to college.

"You are nothing like your brother, boy!" Ellen said.

"Actually, Sam would probably yell at you more than me. You know he hates the fact that he has to stay in one place and obey dad."

"Mom, please. I don't want to live in this stupid town in Kansas anymore. I want to go places when I'm still young," Jo said.

Ellen didn't say anything.

"Ellen, you can always go with her. Gabriel and Ash can take care of this place. They are part owners after all," Dean said.

"Oh what do they know?" Ellen said.

"Well you hired them. They must be good," Dean said.

"I only hired Gabriel because he bought off the store since I didn't have enough cash to take care of it on my own, and Ash is just a pain in a butt. I don't trust either of them."

"I don't think Gabe will mess up anything, it's his store now more than it's yours. I think he would like to keep the good reputation. He can get some part timers for the bar, and Ash is smart enough to take care of everything else," Dean debated.

Ellen had nothing to say.

"See mom, Dean is right. It's not like it's your store anymore anyway. It's Gabe's. Let him deal with it," Jo said.

"It's still my store. It will always be," Ellen said.

"Yes, it will. But they make a good point. You can go with Jo now, and when you come back you will always have a place here. Both of you," a voice said from behind. It was Gabriel. Apparently he overheard the whole conversation.

"I'll think about it," Ellen said and went outside.

"Thanks Gabe," Jo said. Gabriel ignored her. Instead, he turned over to Charlie.

"Charlie, babe. Haven't seen you in forever," he said.

"Hey..." Charlie said quietly.

"How have you been? You still dating that brick?"

"Shut up, Gabe. Dean, Cas, come on, let's go," Charlie said.

All three of them went to the pool table and started playing. Cas only watched because he wasn't as good as Dean and Charlie. Suddenly, Dean's pocket vibrated. He saw that it was a text from his friend Crowley. Well, he didn't know his real name, but everyone called him Crowley, so he went along with it. And he wouldn't exactly call him 'a friend'. It was more like an acquaintance.

Crowley always threw the best parties at the school, and he invited everyone, so Dean, as well as the other many other students of the school attended. Since Crowley only talked to Dean on party occasions, Dean wondered if he was planning another one.

He was right. The text said "Party at the old abandoned building on the other side of the street. Bring everyone you know."

Dean wasn't thrilled of hanging out with people he didn't know, but he loved parties, so he thought it was a good idea to go. He showed the message to Charlie and Cas, and they both agreed to attend.

They wrapped things up at the Arcade around 5 PM and went straight back home.

The guys parted ways with Charlie, because she had to go and get ready in her dorms, and Dean and Cas had to do the same thing in theirs.

They got there and Cas immediately gave Spike another piece of cheese. Dean was happy that he and the rat were getting along, especially under the circumstances they met.

"Hey Cas..." Dean said, "Why do you play with Spike so much?"

"Because I've never had a pet before," he answered without looking away from the furry creature.

"Never?!" Dean said in surprise.

"Never," Cas confirmed.

"Why?"

"Because my parents were very strict. I found a cat outside once, and it was raining, it had black fur and blue eyes. I wanted to take it home, so I did, but my parents made me get rid of it immediately."

"What happened with the cat?" Dean asked. A frown showed up on his face. He had a cat, and a dog, and a bird. His parents always got him whatever he wished.

"I gave it to my cousin. She is older, and she ran away from home when she was young."

"Why?"

"Because my parents, as well as hers are really strict, and they never let us do anything," Cas replied.

"Why?" It seemed that Dean repeated the question more times in a row that he could ever imagine, but Cas never opened this much to him ever, so he took the chance and tried to find out everything he could.

"Because she was never good with rules, and she was getting yelled at all the time, and I guess she got sick of it. I don't blame her, to be honest." He sighed.

"Did you ever consider running away?"

"I did. I'm here, aren't I?" Cas said quietly.

"What?! You mean your parents don't know you are here?"

"They do. They'd never actually let me go somewhere alone, but my uncle said he'll take care of me, since he's the principal."

"Mr. Shurley is your uncle?!"

"He is, yes. He doesn't like being called Mr. Shurley, he prefers Master Chuck," Cas said.

"You're... kidding... right?" Dean said.

"I am." Cas laughed. Dean laughed too. They stopped talking for a moment, while Dean was picking his clothes for the party. It was a costume party, since it was Halloween, but he didn't have any costumes. He only had a suit and a fake FBI badge him and Sam used to make when they were younger. Dean was impressed that it actually looked like an actual FBI badge when they had been kidding around when they made it.

An FBI agent seemed to be the only choice for costume for such a short notice, so he put the suit on and placed the FBI badge in the inside of the pocket. He found his old sunglasses in a box, and he put them on as well, even though he despised people who wear sunglasses at night.

Meanwhile, Cas just sat on the chair, not knowing what to do.

"What are you going to be dressed as?" Dean asked him.

"I don't actually have anything to wear to parties... or costume parties, since I don't really attend them," Cas said.

"You can borrow some of my things."

"What do you have?"

"Nothing really." Dean sighed desperately. He looked in his closet and saw mostly black, navy and dark green. He couldn't think of what he could throw together to make it look like Cas had an actual costume.

The only thing he could think of was his leather jacket and dark skinny jeans, ripped on the knees, and make Cas look like a bad-ass biker.

He suggested that idea to Cas, and because they were lacking any others, he decided to go with it.

Dean sat down on the chair and waited for Cas to put his costume together.

"How is it?" Cas asked. Dean looked at him, and he had to admit, Cas was rocking the skinny jeans.

"Awesome," Dean said.

"Good. Because I don't think I can take these off without scissors." Cas said, looking at the skinny jeans. Dean laughed.

"I think you need some accessories with this," Dean said, "Oh god, I sound like a girl."

"No you don't. Your voice is quite the opposite of a girl's voice."

"I meant... never mind." Dean decided to let go the argument and instead look for anything dark and awesome he could find.

He was able to find his old black leather gloves with spikes on their ends. It's what he bought when he was going through his punk stage, which lasted about a week.

That was the time when he was dating a punk chick that he ended up getting in a huge fight with. The reason was obviously stupid, since Dean couldn't remember it.

While Cas was putting the gloves on, there was a knock on the door. Dean opened and saw Charlie in a big white and red cape.

"Assassins Creed?" he guessed.

"Well duh," she said with a big smile on her face. "You guys ready?"

"I think I am," Cas said.

Charlie took a glance at him. "Whoa Cas, rocking those pants," she said.

"I know right! He looks awesome," Dean said.

"Yeah, yeah... Enough talking! Let's go," she said and pushed Dean out of the door. Cas followed behind them. There was a party to go to and Dean, for the first time in a while, was kind of excited about it. He had his awesome and weird roommate and his best friend right there next to him. He had a feeling that this night was going to be awesome.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: Dean is a college student, living an ordinary, messy college life. One day he gets an e-mail from the school that there is another student, Castiel, transferring into his room for unknown reasons. Dean isn't questioning why at first, but soon enough he notices Castiel's odd behavior and questions begin to rise to the surface.**

**Pairing: Destiel**

**Overall Rating: MA**

**Beta Reader: The awesome Littleaprilroses. :)**

**Note: I'll be posting a new chapter every Thursday possibly. Enjoy and tell me what you think.**

**I am so so sorry that I haven't updated in 2 weeks guys. But I had to start school and I had to get some things done before I could continue. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's one of my favorites so far.**

* * *

When Cas, Charlie and Dean arrived to the party they saw Crowley standing at the front door outside of the house, making out with some guy who was wearing a devil's costume.

"Hey Crowley," Dean greeted him. He didn't want to interrupt but he was curious about who the guy was.

Crowley broke off the kiss and turned to Dean. "Hey squirrel, you came!" Crowley greeted in response, smirking a bit.

When he moved, Dean was able to see the face of the other boy. He was stunned when he learned that it was some teacher assistant that Dean didn't remember his name.

It didn't really surprise him. Crowley _was_ bisexual after all and everyone knew how loose he can get when he gets this drunk.

"Don't call me that," Dean sighed. "Can we just go in?"

"No, you can't." Crowley said sarcastically.

"Whatever." Dean scoffed, pushing past him and walking inside with Charlie and Cas following behind.

When they entered he saw that almost half of the school had arrived, but he didn't recognize most of them since they were all dressed up in costumes.

"I'll meet you back here," Charlie said to the boys and started walking towards a girl who was wearing a fairy suit.

Dean figured he shouldn't bother Charlie for a bit while she worked her magic so he kept walking. The music was obnoxiously loud, making it hard to really distinguish any words from the song.

He started walking toward the bar to get a drink and blinked when he remembered that he'd completely forgot about the fact that Cas was with him earlier.

He looked around but he couldn't find him.

Maybe Dean should go look for him, Cas is pretty shy and awkward 98% of the time... The boy shrugged in denial of the idea, knowing the other boy would probably be fine.

He was stuck drinking beer at the moment, which usually wasn't a bad thing but this was definitely not his favorite brew. Unfortunately it was either this stuff or red wine, and Dean definitely wasn't a big wine drinker.

Somebody approached him from behind.

"Hi there." A pretty brown haired girl with a red tight dress and lips to match said to Dean.

"Oh... hi," Dean said friendlily, tilting his head a little in confusion. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so, but you're Dean, right?" She asked.

"How do you know who I am?"

"You dated my cousin Lisa." She explained. Dean winced, struck with bad memories of his and Lisa's relationship and without another word got up and left immediately after to stop himself from saying something he'd regret.

Dean and Lisa were dating for a long time, together for their entire freshman year, but after their break up Dean felt that he never wanted to see her again.

He didn't even think that she would be at this party originally, but now that he thinks about it that was stupid of him to assume. Of course she would be here, she went to the same school after all and she was popular enough that going to these things was practically her job.

"Wait, where are you even going?" The girl called after him, disappointment in her voice.

"Looking for my friend," he responded and started getting lost in the crowd. He started looking in all the places where Cas could be hiding.

He looked in the bathroom, but the only thing he found was some random drunk couple hooking up, getting the same result with the upstairs hallway. He walked around and started to get dizzy. He needed some air.

No sign of Cas or Charlie outside either. He sighed and sat down on the doorsteps, looking up at the sky thoughtfully. The moon was half full and really bright out tonight. Dean felt a sad twinge enter his heart with the twinkling stars reminded him of his mothers warm eyes.

God he missed her and the rest of his family so much these days.

He took out his phone and started calling Sammy's number. It was about 10 PM on a Saturday night, so he hoped that he didn't go to bed yet.

It rang twice before Sam answered.

"Hello," Sam said with a sleepy voice.

"Are you awake?" Dean asked.

"I'm awake." Sam said drowsily.

"You don't sound awake."

"Well I laid down, but I haven't fallen asleep yet so it's okay." Sam said honestly.

Dean chuckled. "How's it going Sammy?"

"It's going great. My progress report came today and I've got all A's." Sam's voice was now flush with enthusiasm.

"I'm really proud of you little bro." Dean said proudly.

"What about you man? How are your grades?" Sam asked.

"Well... I'm not failing if that's what you mean." Dean muttered.

"Dean... college costs money. Start taking school more seriously dude." Sam sighed out, concern entering his voice.

"I will, I will." Dean grumbled, not really meaning it but figuring it would make Sam feel better.

"Where are you now? It's Saturday night; so I'm guessing a party?" Sam asked.

"Not a very good one," Dean admitted, laughing.

"Well then just leave," Sam said.

"I can't! Charlie and Cas are here with me but I don't know where they are." Dean explained.

"Who's Cas?" Sam asked.

"Oh, well remember that new roommate that was supposed to move in? That's who Cas is. Turns out he's really cool so we're hanging out a lot lately." Dean said.

"Cool, glad you're making friends Dean. Where did you lose him anyway?"

"No idea, one second he was here and the next _poof! _He was gone."

"Go find him then and call me back tomorrow." Sam laughed and before Dean could respond he hung up.

Dean looked at the screen of his phone, wondering what's up with his brother. Then he got up and started looking for Cas inside.

Suddenly he noticed the dark leather jacket Cas was wearing next to someone he didn't recognize.

"Cas!" He yelled, but it was too loud for anyone to hear.

He pushed through the people, trying to make space to get closer.

Finally, he got close enough to touch the leather jacket and pulled it close. It was Cas that turned around. He had a big grin on his face. It was the first time that Dean saw Cas with a grin on his face.

"Hey Cas, what's up?" Dean asked loudly over the noise.

"I am happy!" Cas yelled back.

"Yeah, but why?" Dean asked. Cas started talking loudly, but he couldn't understand a word he was saying. He pulled Castiel's arm and started going outside.

When they got there, Dean turned around and asked again. "What were you saying?"

"I was lost and then someone talked to me and then I made out with her," Cas said bluntly.

Dean blinked, shocked. "Who's 'her' exactly?"

"I don't know her name," Cas said.

"Whoa, okay well..." And before he could finish the sentence a girl spoke from behind.

"Dean," The girl said. Dean stared at her blankly.

"Meg," he said formally.

"You don't mind me stealing him for the night, do you?" Meg said, then grabbed Cas's hand, without even looking at him. She looked at Dean directly; waiting for his reaction.

"I do mind," Dean said.

"Fuck you!" Meg said.

"Fuck off!" Dean said and pulled Cas inside the room again.

"But Dean... why did you do that?" Cas asked.

"Because... trust me, you don't wanna mess with her. She's the most manipulative bitch around here. Trust me... she's a demon in every sense of the world. And you are too innocent to play around with her," Dean sighed. Cas didn't say a word, he just followed Dean back inside to the party.

When they got inside the music was stopped. "Who wants to play 'Truth or Dare' with us?" Crowley said.

"We do!" Dean said impulsively. Couple of other people shouted a 'yes' at Crowley too.

"Good! We're gonna go upstairs." Crowley announced. After that, the music started playing again.

When Dean and Cas got upstairs, Dean saw someone he's been trying to avoid for months: Lisa. Her cousin was there as well. The others were unknown faces to Dean. For his misfortune, Lisa sat next to him on the right, and Cas was on the other side. He was trying to ignore her as much as he could.

After a few games of truth, and a bunch of uncomfortable dares it was finally Crowley's turn again. "Okay, Lisa, truth or dare?" Crowley asked her.

"Um, truth..." Lisa said.

"What was the last sexual relationship you had that got you excited?" Crowley asked.

"Not gonna lie... Dean!" She said and looked at him. Dean felt the urge to slap her with all of his might.

"Good," Crowley said. "Your turn!"

"Okay, Carmen!" Lisa said, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Carmen said. Dean didn't know anything about Carmen, but he knew that it was Lisa's cousin, and that was enough for him not to like her, even though she was gorgeous.

"Okay, Carmen, make out with the person you find least attractive here!" Lisa said.

"Fine," she said. She kissed a skinny guy who was sitting on the opposite side of Dean. Dean felt sorry for him. He kind of looked familiar... and then he remembered. That was Garth.

He had him in his computer class and he was a really sweet guy despite the fact that he looked like a twelve year old kid.

"You're a good kisser," Carmen said, giving Garth a slightly sympathetic smile before turning towards him.

"Okay, my turn, Dean!" She said excitedly.

"Seriously? Fine, uhm, dare I guess." Dean sighed. He wasn't gonna give them the chance to squeeze any kind of embarrassing truth's out of him.

"Okay, I dare you to make out for as long as you can with the person next to you!" She smiled diabolically. Yea, she was definitely related to Lisa alright.

Dean looked to his right and saw Lisa staring at his seductively. On the left was Cas, who didn't even look up to meet his eyes.

There was no way he'll ever kiss Lisa again, especially not after their nasty break up. She cheated, manipulated, and played him in every way she could.

He'd even been willing to try and move past that, but she was the one who broke up with him, and he wasn't going to let her go back on that decision.

With that in mind Dean braced himself for inescapable future embarrassment.

He turned on the other side and saw Cas who was silently looking at his hands and picking at the sleeves of his leather jacket. Dean had never kissed a guy before, but it wouldn't be as bad as kissing Lisa again.

Kissing Lisa was like making a deal with the devil, and he tried staying away from those kinds of people. On the other hand, Cas was sweet and innocent all the time, so he decided to go for it.

He turned around and cupped Cas's cheek, turning him at Dean's direction. Taking a deep breath he stared into Castiel's wide eyes before pressing his lips against his.

Castiel made a soft, started noise into his mouth, not doing anything to imply that he enjoyed or disliked the kiss for a moment.

Worried he was doing something wrong Dean upped his game and tilted his head, deepening the kiss. He gently slid his tongue along the seam of Castiel's slightly chapped but warm and soft lips.

Castiel, after a moment of suspended animation finally relaxed into the kissed and moaned softly, granting Dean entrance into his mouth.

Their tongues gently played with the others, taking the time to taste each other's mouth thoroughly before Dean pulled away to rake in a gasp for air.

Opening his eyes Dean swayed a bit, overwhelmed with pleasure and confusion. Damn, he didn't think it would be _that_ good.

Dean looked slowly at Cas who looked just as confused as he was, pale cheeks and neck flushed red as he gently panted.

"You, uh, you know that I meant Lisa right?" Carmen asked Dean awkwardly. Everyone else was quiet and Dean grew agitated under the heavy weight of their judgmental stares.

"Whatever, I'm out of here." Dean muttered at her and got up. He quickly made his way towards the stairs.

"Dean, wait!" Cas shouted after him, but Dean ignored him and headed downstairs without a second glance back.

* * *

Castiel got up and went to look for him but was disheartened to learn that Dean was nowhere to be found.

He looked around for Charlie too but wasn't able to find her anywhere either.

Castiel sighed and sat down on a chair in the furthest end of the living room. He would have gone home by now but he didn't have any idea of how they'd gotten here in the first place to be honest.

Sighing again, Castiel let his head go limp against the backrest and closed his eyes in defeat. He had nothing else to do but wait for him to show up.


End file.
